1. Field of the invention
In one aspect this invention relates to armored gun turrets. In yet a further aspect this invention relates to control limiting devices useful with armored gun turrets.
2. Prior Art
This invention relates broadly to armored vehicles containing crew members which are adapted to move military personnel under battlefield conditions. The armor on the vehicles is designed to protect the crew from various threats such as projectiles of various shapes and sizes common to battlefield positions. Such armored vehicles generally have a chassis for locomotion containing space and seating arrangements for the crew. The chassis will also contain a source of power, i.e.; diesel engine or gas turbine which furnishes power to propel the vehicle and operate various functions on the vehicle. The chassis may be of the tracked laying variety such as the well known tracked tank or similar fighting vehicles designed to operate under the most severe military environment.
The chassis for fighting vehicles in accordance with this invention has a turret mounted atop the chassis. In general the turret will be mounted so as to rotate about a vertical axis and is arranged to support a large bore cannon. The turret is arranged to swivel through a 360 degree arc to allow the large bore cannon to be pointed at a hostile threat regardless of the position of the tank with respect to the remainder of its battle group. The rotation of the turret is generally controlled by a gunner and effected by means of various hydraulic and mechanical devices well known in the art. A detailed description of turret movement is omitted in the interest of brevity. The main or large board cannon which represents the main source of fire power is rotatability mounted on the turret so the cannon can be elevated through a substantial arc. The cannon can be rotated so as to hit a target from relatively close to the vehicle out to a range of several thousand meters. When the cannon is in the upper position its muzzle is elevated several meters off the ground and therefore protected from contact with a majority of hazards. However, if the cannon is lowered to its lowest point or the elevation mechanism fails and allows the cannon to descend to its lowest possible point, the muzzle of the cannon would be in close proximity to the ground. At the lowest position it would be possible for the cannon muzzle to be jammed into the ground, shrubbery or other low lying obstacles resulting in a blockage of the cannon. If the cannon is discharged when partially or fully blocked, destruction of the cannon is likely. Also, if the cannon muzzle comes into contact with an obstacle the force transmitted to the breech could cause substantial damage to the interior elements of the cannon where it is attached to the turret as well as cause damage to components located near the breech end of the cannon barrel.